RIYADH: Startups across the Middle East and North Africa saw new funding rounds over the past week, with acquisitions, and partnerships across artificial intelligence, fintech, gaming, and digital infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia-based Signit raised $15 million in a series A round led by Raed Ventures, with participation from STV, Seedra Ventures, Takamol Ventures, and Suhail Ventures.
Founded in 2021 by Mohamed El-Abbouri, Signit provides digital signature and contract lifecycle management solutions for enterprises and government entities, positioning itself within a growing regional market for secure digital transactions and compliance tools.
The company said the funding will be used to enhance its AI capabilities, automate contract workflows, and strengthen its digital trust infrastructure as adoption of paperless processes accelerates across both public and private sectors.
Fascano closes $10m investment round
Oman-based Fascano has closed its third investment round at $10 million, with participation from Sayyid Kamel bin Fahd Al Said and Cyfr Capital, in partnership with the Future Fund Oman under the country’s investment authority.
Founded in 2021 by Ahmed Al-Kharusi and Murak Al-Muairki, the company develops operational and technology solutions for the hospitality and food and beverage sector, focusing on improving efficiency and streamlining business processes.
The company said the funding will support continued product development and the expansion of its solutions across the sector.
Fascano is operating in a regional food tech landscape that is increasingly focused on digitising backend operations, including supply chain management, inventory optimization, and customer engagement tools.
In November 2024, the company closed its second round at an undisclosed amount, led by the Oman Future Fund in collaboration with the Oman Investment Authority and Cyfr Capital, indicating sustained investor interest in the company’s growth trajectory.
Above, the Fascano team. (Supplied)
Speedinvest launches MEA-focused flagship fund
Austria-based venture capital firm Speedinvest has launched its first flagship fund dedicated to the Middle East and Africa, marking a formal expansion of its investment strategy in the region.
The fund is backed by institutional investors including Mubadala, Qatar Investment Authority, and EIB Global.
The fund will target early and growth-stage startups across MENAPT and sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on sectors including fintech, embedded finance, AI, climate technology, health, and digital infrastructure.
The initiative builds on Speedinvest’s existing regional portfolio, which includes companies such as Moove, Khazna, Abhi, and Flow48.
The firm said the fund will be supported by local teams and partnerships, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the region.
Sinai.ai raises $1.45m pre-seed to develop AI-native book platform
Egypt-based Sinai.ai has raised $1.45 million in a pre-seed round led by KAUST Innovation Ventures and DisrupTech Ventures, with participation from Maza Ventures, YOUXEL Ventures, and a group of angel investors.
Founded in 2024 by Ahmed Kamel, Mohamed El-Shamy, Mohamed El-Shenawy, Hana Malhas, and Abdullah Moatasem, the company is building an AI-native book platform designed to transform traditional content into interactive and personalized experiences.
At the core of its offering is aiBookTM, a patented format that enables real-time interaction, adaptive learning, and multimodal content consumption.
The company said the funding will be used to advance its technology stack, invest in AI infrastructure, secure licensing agreements, and drive user acquisition.
Egypt-based Sinai.ai has raised $1.45 million in a pre-seed round. Above, the Sinai team. (Supplied)
Tamatem acquires Playable Factory
Jordan-based gaming company Tamatem has fully acquired Playable Factory, a global platform founded in 2018 in Istanbul that enables game developers to scale user acquisition through interactive advertising formats.
The platform claims to deliver up to eight times higher conversion rates and improved retention compared to traditional ad formats.
Founded in 2013 by Hussam Hammo, Tamatem is one of the leading Arabic mobile games publishers in the region, with more than 70 published games, 300 million downloads, and over three million monthly active users.
The acquisition integrates advertising technology into Tamatem’s broader ecosystem, which spans content development, distribution, and monetization.
Tamatem has raised more than $25 million to date, with investors including Next Ventures, Square Enix, Wamda Capital, and Krafton.
Jordan-based gaming company Tamatem has fully acquired Playable Factory. (Supplied)
A15 exits Viral Wave following acquisition by PopArabia
Egypt-based venture capital firm A15 has recorded its ninth exit following the acquisition of its portfolio company Viral Wave by PopArabia.
Founded in 2023 as part of ARPUPlus, Viral Wave operates as a digital music distribution platform, managing content across streaming services and YouTube.
Following the acquisition, Viral Wave will operate as PopArabia’s distribution and label services division, with its Egypt-based team integrated into regional operations.
The deal expands the footprint of PopArabia and Reservoir across the Middle East and North Africa, strengthening capabilities in music distribution, monetization, and artist services at a time of continued growth in digital music consumption in the region.
Arabic.AI partners with HeyBreez
UAE-based Arabic.AI has partnered with HeyBreez to deliver production-grade Arabic voice AI solutions for enterprises and government entities.
The partnership combines Arabic language intelligence with real-time infrastructure, enabling scalable deployment of voice-enabled applications.
Arabic.AI develops advanced natural language processing models covering Modern Standard Arabic and regional dialects, including Gulf, Levantine, Egyptian, and Maghrebi variants.
HeyBreez contributes low-latency infrastructure, supporting streaming, multi-agent orchestration, and telephony integration.
The collaboration targets a market of more than 400 million Arabic speakers, addressing limitations in existing AI systems that have historically prioritized English-language capabilities.
Ray raises $1.2m seed
UAE-based startup Ray has raised $1.2 million in a seed round led by angel investors to support the rollout of its powerbank-sharing service across the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Founded in 2025 by Igor Kosolap and Roman Averianov, the company operates a network of portable charging stations that allow users to rent and return powerbanks across multiple locations.
The service is currently live in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with plans to scale to 2,000 locations across the UAE.
iSchool acquires Rubikal to strengthen AI education capabilities
Egypt-based education tech company iSchool has acquired software engineering firm Rubikal as part of its strategy to accelerate the development of AI-powered education systems.
Founded in 2018, iSchool provides live, gamified coding classes led by instructors, targeting students across the region.
Rubikal, founded in 2016, specializes in building real-time, scalable, and fault-tolerant web applications.
The acquisition brings Rubikal’s team of 21 engineers and its founding team into iSchool, strengthening the company’s in-house technical capabilities as it continues to expand its platform and integrate more advanced AI-driven learning features.
iSchool has acquired Rubikal to strengthen AI education capabilities. (Supplied)
VAST Data raises $1bn series F at $30bn valuation
US-based AI infrastructure company VAST Data has raised approximately $1 billion in a series F round, reaching a valuation of $30 billion.
The round was led by Drive Capital, with Access Industries as co-lead, and participation from NVIDIA, Fidelity, and NEA.
Founded in 2016 by Renen Hallak, VAST Data develops an AI operating system designed to unify data, compute, and real-time processing into a single platform.
With an existing presence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the company said the funding will be used to accelerate global expansion, pursue strategic acquisitions, and further develop its AI infrastructure offerings, reflecting continued investor demand for foundational technologies supporting AI deployment at scale.
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